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Ranis
2007-03-08, 10:39 PM
I just saw a picture of the coverart of Monster Manual FIVE, had a nerdgasm, and had to buy this book, but apparently it isn't out yet. Anyone know when the release date is?

Renegade Paladin
2007-03-08, 10:44 PM
July 17, 2007 (http://www.amazon.com/Monster-Manual-Dungeons-Dragons-Supplement/dp/0786941154/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-0596980-7652027?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1173412450&sr=8-1)

Ranis
2007-03-08, 10:52 PM
That's 2 days after my birthday. Sweet.

Assassinfox
2007-03-09, 01:38 PM
I hope it isn't like Monster Manual IV.

kpenguin
2007-03-09, 01:51 PM
I hope it isn't like Monster Manual IV.

Alike in monster content or format. I liked the format, but not the content.

Fax Celestis
2007-03-09, 01:57 PM
I actually liked MM-IV. Useful for a DM on the run such as myself.

Renegade Paladin
2007-03-09, 02:01 PM
I hope it isn't like Monster Manual IV.
The MMIV's format is superior to the format of all the Monster Manuals that came before it. :smallannoyed:

Person_Man
2007-03-09, 02:04 PM
I hope it isn't like Monster Manual IV.

What was wrong with MMIV? I don't own it, but have been considering another MM or other DM focused book purchase.

BCOVertigo
2007-03-09, 02:05 PM
The MMIV's format is superior to the format of all the Monster Manuals that came before it. :smallannoyed:

In the same way a barstool is superior to a couch....why couldn't they bring back cool stuff like sleeping habits with all that saved space?

kpenguin
2007-03-09, 02:08 PM
I think he's refering to the previous 3.n Monster Manuals. Sleeping habits would be very nice, though. I usually make seperate encounter tables for night and day and have to guess on some monsters on when they're active.

Assassinfox
2007-03-09, 02:15 PM
Alike in monster content or format. I liked the format, but not the content.

Yeah, I was more referring to the content. MMIV's new content was just pitiful. I really didn't think the sections on familiar monsters like Drow and Gnolls were necessary.

Death_Knight
2007-03-09, 03:05 PM
"Here's a drow.. with CLASS LEVELS!!"
Yeah, thanks, Wizards. Like we couldn't have spent half an hour to make that ourselves.

Fax Celestis
2007-03-09, 03:22 PM
"Here's a drow.. with CLASS LEVELS!!"
Yeah, thanks, Wizards. Like we couldn't have spent half an hour to make that ourselves.

Some of us don't have a half hour.

Renegade Paladin
2007-03-09, 03:37 PM
Some of us don't have a half hour.
Tell me about it. :smallannoyed: Frankly, those drow with class levels served me well as random encounters in the forest of Cormanthor that weren't just another woodland creature, and while I could have come up with it myself, I often just don't have the time.

Aximili
2007-03-09, 03:43 PM
Some of us don't have a half hour.
Doesn't the DMG have instant NPCs per level or something?

The Vorpal Tribble
2007-03-09, 03:46 PM
The MMIV's format is superior to the format of all the Monster Manuals that came before it. :smallannoyed:
If you've ever tried to advance a monster from the new format or add class levels you'd be whistling a new tune.

As a DM and a monster maker, I spit upon the new format.

*HAAAWWWK*

Fax Celestis
2007-03-09, 03:58 PM
Doesn't the DMG have instant NPCs per level or something?

I utilize those as well.

Fax Celestis
2007-03-09, 03:59 PM
If you've ever tried to advance a monster from the new format or add class levels you'd be whistling a new tune.

As a DM and a monster maker, I spit upon the new format.

*HAAAWWWK*

The Monster Format? Sure. But the book itself is pretty well put together. I like the Generic Encounter Locations.

Vaynor
2007-03-09, 04:07 PM
If you've ever tried to advance a monster from the new format or add class levels you'd be whistling a new tune.

As a DM and a monster maker, I spit upon the new format.

*HAAAWWWK*
Yah, I don't like it either. It seems much harder to actually FIND the information. It does look snazzy though. :smallsmile:

Zincorium
2007-03-09, 05:40 PM
Tell me about it. :smallannoyed: Frankly, those drow with class levels served me well as random encounters in the forest of Cormanthor that weren't just another woodland creature, and while I could have come up with it myself, I often just don't have the time.

I tend to recycle a bit, and I don't worry about fact checking my NPCs as much as I do my PCs. I understand the time crunch, but if I'm paying money for something, then it'd better be a bit more complete than what's in the MM IV for drow and gnolls. They've got stat blocks and all that, yeah, but that's a five minute rummage through my notebook for me and another five tweaking. All the actual character details, in case I'd like it to be more complicated than 'they just want to kill you, and won't talk if captured', still have to be come up with, and the MM IV doesn't help.

As for the format, it takes some getting used to, and since it's the only main source that uses it, that means it's the one getting left by the wayside.

Draz74
2007-03-09, 06:31 PM
If you've ever tried to advance a monster from the new format or add class levels you'd be whistling a new tune.

As a DM and a monster maker, I spit upon the new format.

*HAAAWWWK*

Really? I agree that the new format can be tough for a monster-maker, but it seems awfully convenient for a DM.

Seatbelt
2007-03-09, 07:18 PM
Yeah, I adored the format when I ran Red Hand of Blood. It was the first real campaign I ran, and as a new DM I loved it soooo much. Each block contains a different bit of important stats. Pre-encounter, offense, defense, skills, feats, SQs etc..

Ranis
2007-03-09, 10:39 PM
I run as much material as I can from the MMIV because of how easy the blocks are to read, but I do agree the content wasn't spectacular. Now, if they can get creative as they were with MMII, then that would be awesome.

Justin_Bacon
2007-03-10, 01:35 AM
As a DM and a monster maker, I spit upon the new format.

The new format is great for modules: It chews up space, but it's easy to reference. It's actually pretty similar to the ad hoc monster cheat sheets I would throw together to smooth my DMing.

But, yeah, I tend to agree that the new format is a nightmare if you need to go in and actually manipulate the data.

Kevka Palazzo
2007-03-10, 01:51 AM
It's only annoying because it's new and nobody's used to it yet. At least that's my theory. I would have started writing all my monsters in it, but I'd get yelled at :smalleek: .

Piedmon_Sama
2007-03-10, 02:07 AM
I want to meet the DM who has actually used every monster from every Manual (plus Fiend Folio and other books) ever. I imagine he'd be a massive, Buddha-like figure, unable to rise from his delapidated sofa but blissful in some kind of nerdvana enlightenment.

Helgraf
2007-03-10, 02:17 AM
I want to meet the DM who has actually used every monster from every Manual (plus Fiend Folio and other books) ever. I imagine he'd be a massive, Buddha-like figure, unable to rise from his delapidated sofa but blissful in some kind of nerdvana enlightenment.

I play with a DM who has come damn close to that .... if you factor in the Epic game he runs that I'm not in, he's even closer.

Dervag
2007-03-10, 02:50 AM
Yeah, I adored the format when I ran Red Hand of Blood. It was the first real campaign I ran, and as a new DM I loved it soooo much. Each block contains a different bit of important stats. Pre-encounter, offense, defense, skills, feats, SQs etc..That may be the key.

MMIV contains a lot of 'instant monster in a can' entries. You don't have to work very hard to put them in your campaign, and they create enough variety among the classes (Look! A gnoll with levels in this class! And another one with levels in that class!) that you can mix up the monsters' tactics.

Once you get good at creating monsters with class levels on your own, then MMIV won't do you much good because it contains relatively few actual new monsters.

Kantolin
2007-03-10, 03:08 AM
I wonder if a book filled entirely with pre-made units would sell well?

Of course, odds are Wizards of the Coast analyzed this already, and mathed out that releasing a book that at least partially worked for both the group that likes pre-made units and the group that doesn't is mathmatically the most profitable option.

So eh.

starwoof
2007-03-10, 03:16 AM
**** the new format. I spit on it with VT.

I've been avoiding MM4 because of the format, but it actually sounds useful to a lazy DM like me who cant be bothered to give monsters levels except on the fly. The MM5 has a really sweet cover though... I think I'll buy it. And MM4 I guess...

CockroachTeaParty
2007-03-10, 05:30 AM
If I could judge a book by its cover alone, the MM V looks pretty baller.

... It's a friggin' illithid skull!

I'm hoping for a Lords of Madness Two.

But yeah... the new format is a might odd. Who asked for it? Did anyone ask for it? I wasn't complaining with the old one...